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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26190043">Box of Memories</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyberWolf_1013/pseuds/CyberWolf_1013'>CyberWolf_1013</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Adora/Catra Angst (She-Ra), Anxious Adora (She-Ra), Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Dark Past, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Life in the Horde (She-Ra), Light Angst, Mentioned Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra), Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Past Abuse, Past Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:01:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,476</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26190043</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyberWolf_1013/pseuds/CyberWolf_1013</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Catra comes back to Brightmoon carrying a box from the Fright Zone and she and Adora come to realize Memory Lane has some deep potholes in it. Potholes with red lightning fizzing around them. Glimmer and Bow are curious but learn quick enough that sharing childhood memories with two Horde raised cadets is more eye opening than they expect.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>117</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Box of Memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm only a few weeks into this fandom and I'm still trying to get the rhythm of the characters down in their natural setting. My writing is rusty as hell to boot. No excuses, I've just gotta rebuild myself.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hey, Adora, check it out." Catra called as she entered the dining room, struggling to open the door when she was holding a box in both hands. The Magicat had just returned from the Fright Zone where Scorpia was trying to put things in order and figure out what to do with all the Horde machines and former soldiers.</p>
<p>Adora, Glimmer, and Bow were around the table having dinner and working on plans for rebuilding some of the villages along the coast. There were still several places that were left in ruins and would have to be totally rebuilt from scratch.</p>
<p>When Catra walked in Adora looked up and saw her trying to manage the door with a battered box in her hands. Abandoning her plate of food Adora rushed to help. "Hey, back." The blond greeted with a warm smile. "What's all this? I thought Scorpia just needed help with deciding what buildings could be salvaged."</p>
<p>Grinning in thanks Catra allowed her girlfriend to take the heavy weight from her and carry it the rest of the way to the long dining table. She saw that Glimmer and Bow had pushed their plates away. Obviously leaving eating till after their curiosity was answered. "This is from Scorpia. You know she's been trying to clean out all the junk from the Horde's old base, right? Cleaning up the training area and barracks and stuff?" Catra explained, sliding into the chair next to Adora's plate and snagging a few bites from it. The other three nodded. She nodded at the box and flipped the top open. "Look what she dug out of one of the offices. When I was about to leave she handed this over. Said it should probably go to both of us."</p>
<p>Adora, Glimmer, and Bow crowded around the top of the box and peered in. There was a stack of files and papers lined up on one side and on the other was an old dented metal box, no bigger than one of Bow's tinkering boxes, and several other objects that Catra and Adora thought they recognized.</p>
<p>The two girls pulled out those things first, while Bow pulled out the folders.</p>
<p>Digging into the box Adora pulled out a red and white shirt that looked like it might fit an eight or nine year old. She let out a sudden laugh as she held it up for inspection. "Hey, Catra, I think this was yours." Glimmer and Bow looked over and their eyes widened. There were several slashes on the front of it with faded blood stains.</p>
<p>Catra examined it with a grin. "Yeah, I remember that. It was, like, one of our first sessions with the others. A bot caught me right across the chest and then you jumped on it like some crazy idiot."</p>
<p>Adora rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "Come on, I was nine. Those bots were huge back then."</p>
<p>They completely missed the wide eyed expressions of Glimmer and Bow as those two shared the same horrified thought. 'Fighting bots when they were nine?!'</p>
<p>Catra had opened the smaller rusted metal box and was grinning at what was inside.</p>
<p>"Is that the treasure box?" Adora asked in wonder. "I haven't seen that since..." the words 'I left the Fright Zone' died in her throat and she gulped them back down in shame. "Since you found-"</p>
<p>"This?" Catra smirked, holding up a flat shimmering stone that fit into her palm. She knew what Adora had been about to say and, although there was a pain there she didn't ever think was gonna go away, Catra knew it wasn't just Adora's fault. She decided to rescue the girl before she wound herself in knots over it.</p>
<p>With a grateful smile, Adora just nodded. "Yeah, you were all giggly when you came back to the barracks that night. Couldn't wait to show off." She turned to the other two at the table. Bow and Glimmer were staring at them in amazement. "What?"</p>
<p>Glimmer broke out into an big grin. "You two had a keepsake box when you were little?"</p>
<p>Adora shrugged her shoulders. She knew Glimmer had a jewelry box, several, in fact. Wasn't this the same? "Well, the Horde didn't allow cadets to have anything for themselves. Definitely nothing personal. When me and Catra were younger we'd hide little things that we found in the vent shaft near our bunk."</p>
<p>"The vents, of course." At Adora and the other's confused looks Catra chuckled suddenly. "It must've been Entrapta that found it and gave it to Scorpia to give to us."</p>
<p>Comprehension dawned in their faces and they all laughed at the odd way one of their friends chose to get around large buildings. The Magicat put the stone back and grinned teasingly. She picked something else out and tossed it over to Adora. "That definitely belonged to you," she said with a teasing huff.</p>
<p>Bow and Glimmer craned the heads around to see what Catra had found. Adora opened her fingers from around the little bent piece of metal. Dull green paint chipped away on the edges and red marker, faded more into brown now, drawn in the symbol of the Horde. "W-wow," Adora looked astonished. "The old Force Captain's badge I made, gosh, I don't even remember when." She flipped the metal emblem around in her fingers, examining it with fondness. "You remember, Catra, we used to trade it back and forth when playing Commander and Princess?"</p>
<p>Then Adora looked up with an embarrassed blush. Glimmer was watching her with a raised brow and crossed arms. Bow just rubbed the back of his head with a grin. Catra had the good grace to also look rather embarrassed in present company.</p>
<p>"Let me guess," the purple haired queen mused in mock annoyance, "no one ever wanted to be the 'princess'?" Glimmer let her scowl linger for another second before she chuckled. She wasn't really angry. How could she be over a child's game?</p>
<p>...Even if it vilified her and their friends.</p>
<p>Adora and Catra just shrugged helplessly. They were Horde kids. Princesses and Queens were evil.</p>
<p>A few other items had been in the box, Adora's training staff she was issued when she turned eight (half as long as a full sized one), a pair of heavy gloves Shadow Weaver made Catra wear for a few months before she'd learned to control her claws... Catra and Adora pushed those aside, they were just part of Horde record keeping, and turned to Glimmer and Bow. The Brightmoon couple had the stack of files between them.</p>
<p>"So, what is all that?" Adora asked curiously with a wave of her hand in the paper's direction.</p>
<p>Glimmer flipped open the first folder on the stack and the other three leaned forward. It was at least a half inch thick pile of notes written in a harsh, knife-like, scrawl. Adora shivered when she got a look at the words. Bow and Glimmer shared a glance between them, confusion evident. The blond looked really uncomfortable and her eyes were still glued to the handwritten pages.</p>
<p>"That's Shadow Weaver's handwriting." Adora grimaced, her eyes finally falling from the papers in Glimmer's hands.</p>
<p>Catra let out a breath and slumped back against her chair- no longer interested. "How do you know it's Shadow Weaver?" Catra asked, half curious, half accusing. "Not like you ever had to deal with her filing system." She inwardly growled to herself, remembering the nightmare of back paperwork that had awaited her promotion to Second in Command.</p>
<p>A far off look entered Adora's storm gray eyes. "When I didn't get the best test scores or Shadow Weaver thought I was slacking off too much she'd call me to her office. I'd have to stand there for hours while she questioned me about every subject she could think of: weapons, procedure, tactics, geography..." Adora trailed off silently with traces of fear creeping into her expression.</p>
<p>Seeing the desperation growing and the beginnings of panic set in Catra sat up and took the girl's hand and squeezed. The familiar pressure seemed to work because Adora blinked and it was almost like she was able to refocus herself. She took a deep breath.</p>
<p>"Uh, yeah, anyway... Most of the time I was in there Shadow Weaver would always be doing these piles of paperwork or reading reports." Adora stuttered nervously and nodded to what Glimmer held. "Are these reports about us?"</p>
<p>Glimmer looked down to read the first few sentences. "Umm, yeah, I think this first part's about you." The purple haired queen began speaking in the short, clipped, style Shadow Weaver wrote in. "The girl is enthusiastic in her training, her scores in the last simulation were impressive. She has a sharp mind for battlefield tactics though her book studies leave much to be desired."</p>
<p>Adora immediately looked down to where Catra refused to let her hand go and Glimmer hesitated before jumping ahead to another section of the notes. "Force Captain Octavia reported to me from the infirmary, it appears these incidents of rebellious behavior will keep occurring unless I step in myself. These repeated actions can not go unaddressed."</p>
<p>A loud groan was heard as Catra sunk into her chair. "Oh, not her again." Adora grinned sympathetically. if there was one person, aside from Shadow Weaver, that both young women could lay their hate into- it was Octavia.</p>
<p>"Ever since Catra scratched her eye out when we were six Octavia's taken every opportunity to get back at the both of us." Adora explained to Glimmer and Bow's unasked question. She could've almost laughed at their wide eyed horror/admiration.</p>
<p>Glimmer laughed nervously and tried skipping ahead again. "This makes the third time Adora has disobeyed instructor's orders on behalf of playing protector during a simulation. Luckily, the injury wasn't crippling. Though it will mean several days of missed training. Childish ideas of heroes and saviors aren't useful to me when they encourage disobedience. Adora is developing an independent streak that is only encouraged by Catra's blatant disrespect. This will have to dealt with immediately."</p>
<p>"Adora, I didn't know you were such a little rebel, even before joining the rebellion." Glimmer teased.</p>
<p>Bow grinned widely and looked over the table at his cat-eared friend. "I don't know, Catra, did you ever start respecting authority?" She crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him. The tough front fooled the two who were raised in a castle but only Catra and Adora knew what it meant when Shadow Weaver had to 'deal' with someone who was causing problems.</p>
<p>Chuckling nervously Adora reached across the top of the table and pulled another folder from the stack that still sat between the Brightmoon couple. Suddenly, she didn't care so much what Shadow Weaver had to say about her and Catra. Red lightning crackled on the edge her mind, those memories were dangerous. She felt immense relief when Glimmer closed the top on the stack of handwritten papers. Maybe one day they could face what was in there... but not today.</p>
<p>The file folder that Adora grabbed was lighter weight and thinner. When she opened it a handful of pictures slipped out and landed on the table. Bow nearly burst with cuteness overload at the picture that landed on top of the rest. It was of a very young Adora who appeared to have latched onto an equally young looking Catra. The frozen moment in time had captured the little six year old blond grinning ear to ear and trying to pull her friend around to face the camera. Meanwhile, the smaller cat-eared girl had a more bashful smile, and was valiantly trying to look anywhere else.</p>
<p>"Awww, Catra, you're so-"</p>
<p>"I'm NOT cute!"</p>
<p>Glimmer, Bow, and even Adora all laughed and snickered because Catra was even cuter when she was mad.</p>
<p>The next picture was a shot obviously from several years later. Adora, Catra, and three others Glimmer and Bow didn't know were walking away from what looked like bot wreckage in the background. They were teenagers, probably not that long before Adora came to Brightmoon, and they all had their arms around each other like it was some celebration.</p>
<p>"What's that? I thought the Horde didn't do parties?" Glimmer asked.</p>
<p>Adora grinned proudly at the picture, her blue eyes lighting up, and Catra took the opportunity to explain to the royal couple. "This was just after our promotion test to become senior cadets. Heh, we got better scores than any other team. Which meant gray bars for dinner."</p>
<p>"So much better then the brown ones." Adora confirmed with a nod of her head. Glimmer cocked a curious brow, not for the first time. "The whole team had to pass, Rogelio, Lonnie, and Kyle too. That's why no one thought we could."</p>
<p>"Well, that, and it was live ammunition bots." Muttered Catra sourly. "As it was, dragging ourselves outta there was about all we could do."</p>
<p>Catra pointed to the teens in the photo and with new understanding Glimmer winced looking at the group picture again. She now noticed the dark skinned girl, Lonnie, was practically being dragged by the scaly lizard-man on one arm. The other arm was full hauling the undersized boy by the scruff of his shirt. The three of them were banged and bruised all over. Glimmer switched her gaze hesitatingly to the more familiar faces of her friends. Catra was grinning or grimacing (Glimmer couldn't tell) through the blood on her face and despite that she was clearly holding Adora upright as the taller girl leaned on her shoulder.</p>
<p>"It took a whole three days for the team to get back on their feet after that. Well, a week for Kyle." Catra grinned in a half-hearted tease. Adora snickered.</p>
<p>It went on like that for a while. Even after the files and photos in the box had been gone through Catra and Adora were more careful about what stories they shared, keeping to the fun of their younger years: Climbing to the top of the barrack's roof, swinging from pipes, racing through the officer's mess hall. Bow and Glimmer even joined in, sharing some of their own young adventures around the castle. The night finally broke up when there was more yawning and rubbing of eyes than talking.</p>
<p>Still, tired chuckles prevailed as the four friends started packing up the box with everything that had been scattered over the table in the course of the evening. With a soft shuffle Bow snuck the two pictures of Catra and Adora and their Horde team into his belt. They seemed to have the most emotional attachment to them and he was sure Adora and Catra would enjoy having pictures of their own to hang in their room. He could make frames in no time.</p>
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